Harley Benton LP-Style User manual

Harley Benton E-Guitar Kit LP-Style
Owner‘sManual
e-Guitar Kit lP-style

Harley Benton E-Guitar Kit LP-Style
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
Body finish ................................................................................................................... 4
Neck finish ................................................................................................................... 4
Assembling of tuners ................................................................................................... 5
Neck............................................................................................................................. 6
Wiring........................................................................................................................... 6
Bridge assembly ......................................................................................................... 12
Strap buttons............................................................................................................. 13
Setting up .................................................................................................................. 13
Notes ......................................................................................................................... 15

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Introduction
Thank you for buying the guitar kit. All the wood, hardware and electrical components of the guitar are
containedinthispackage.Pleasereadthefollowinginstructionsforassemblyandnishing.

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Body finish
Therstconsiderationtobemadebeforeassemblingistochoosethepreferrednishoftheguitarbody.
The basswood body of the guitar is sealed and prepared for various types of lacquer coating. A wide variety of
nishescanbeprocuredfromDIY,timberandautomotiveoutletsinaerosolcansmakingnishingstraightfor-
ward without requiring specialist skills. The use of a dust mask is essential when spraying.
Therststepistocheckthetofthebodytotheneckjoint.Thebassguitarismachinedfromhigh-gradetone-
woods to ensure optimum alignment. But all woods have a natural propensity to change the shape very slightly
overtime.Ifthetistootight,agentleadjustmentusingasharpchiselorsandpapermayberequired.Please
rememberthatthecoatingoflacquerwillmakethenecktalittlemoretightlyintothecutout.
Before coating the body, ensure that all surfaces are clean and free of dirt and dust. Conduct all coating proc-
esses in a well-aired, dust-free environment. Slow and patient progress is the key to a good quality of the body
nishanditisrecommendedtotestthecolourandtechniqueonasparepieceofwoodrst.
A hole is drilled in the neck cutout so that it can be suspended by a hook for spraying and drying or alterna-
tively, a spare length of wood can be screwed in place of the neck in the cutout as a handle.
Sprayontheedgesofthebodyrstandallowthecoattobecometouchdry.Oncetheedgesaredry,continue
ontherearandthenonthefrontofthebody.Gradualandsmoothpasseswillensureanevencoat.Ifthereare
anyimperfections,allowfortobecomefullydryandthensandoutwithnegrade(e.g.800+grit)beforere-
spraying. Apply three or more coats for full coverage.
Neck finish
Theneckoftheguitarissuppliedsealedwithalightcoatofmattelacquerandisreadytouse.Ifpreferred,the
neckcanbenishedwithacolourorglosslacquer.Ifso,dothefollowing.
Therosewoodngerboarddoesnotneedcoatingwithlacquer,soitisimportanttomaskofftheexposedrose-
wood and frets prior to spraying. Ensure all parts to be sprayed are free from dirt and dust and that the envi-
ronment is dust-free and well-aired. The use of a dust mask is essential when spraying.
Choose a good quality, clear or lightly tinted wood lacquer aerosol for the neck and begin at the front and sides
oftheheadstock.Startwithagradual,evenpasstoapplyathincoat,allowdrying(tobetouchable)andrepeat
thistwoorthreetimes.Takecarenottoapplytoomuch,whichmaycauseruns.Ifthishappens,sanddown
the area and re-apply evenly.
Aftertheheadstockhasbecomedry,turntheneckoverandlayitdownonitsngerboard.Repeattheabove
processfortherestoftheexposedmaple.
Allow two to three days for the lacquer to fully harden and then, if desired, polish the lacquered surfaces to get
a suitable shine.

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Assembling of tuners
Beforeattachingthenecktothebody,tthetuningmachine-headstotheheadstockbyinsertingthethread
through the pre-drilled holes and setting a washer and bush over it. Screw down the bush onto the thread until
ittstightlytothetouchandthenadjusttherearofthemachine-headsothatthetuningbuttonsitsvertically
above the top edge of the headstock.
Tightenthenutonthefrontfaceofthetuneruntilitisrmbyusingaspannerofthecorrectsize.Repeatthis
fortheremainingvetuners.

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Neck
With the body placed face up on a protective surface, position the neck into the neck cutout until it is fully
inserted.
Turntheassemblyoverandpositiontheneckplate(withitsblackprotectiveseal)overthefourboltholesat
the rear of the body and drive in the four long screws through the neck plate, body and pilot holes in the neck
untilalltstightly.
Wiring
Wiring is implemented as plug-in modules, soldering is not required.
First take out the cables that are to be connected connected to the potentiometers. Put the end with the three
connectors into the channel from the control cavity side until they reach the switch cavity.

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Wiring
Then put the potentiometers on the right positions as shown in the following picture. The Tone and Volume
potentiometers on the downside should be connected to the neck pickup. The Tone and Volume potentiometer
on the upper side should be connected to the bridge pickup.

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Wiring
Takeoutthecablewithoutconnector(stringgroundingcable)andinsertitintothepre-drilledbridgehole
throughthechannel.Justleaveitinthebridgehole.Itwillconnecttoearthwhenthebootsofthebridgeare
pressedonit.Stringgroundingreducesnoise(hum).
Lead the cables of the pickups from the pickup cavity through the channel to the control cavity and connect
them to the potentiometers accordingly.

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Wiring
Secure the frames with dome-head screws into the
pre-drilled holes.
Take out the cable that does not connect to the po-
tentiometersandconnectitonthejackplatethrough
thejackhole.Screwthejackplateonthepre-drilled
holes.

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Wiring
Connect the switch with the three cables coming from the control cavity according to the marking numbers
locatedontheconnectors.Puttheswitchontherightpositionandxitfromthefrontside.
Therearbodyplasticplatesnowcanbettedtocoverthecontrolandswitchcavity.Securetheplateswith
dome-head screws into the pre-drilled holes.

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Wiring
Nowyoucanxthepickguard.Thisisverysimple,justdoitaccordingtothefollowingpictures.

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Bridge assembly
Useahammertoknockthethreadsofthebridgeandtailpieceintothepre-drilledholesaccordingly,andxthe
bridge and tailpiece on the screws.
Put the knob on the shaft of each potentiometer.

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Strap buttons
Screwthestrapbuttonsintothepre-drilledholesatthebottomedgeofthebodyandatthetopnexttothe
switch.
Setting up
Fitting strings to the guitar is achieved by threading from the tailpiece to the bridge, emerging through the rel-
evant saddle on the bridge. Start with the thickest string bottom E in the uppermost position on the bridge.
Ensure that the string sits smoothly on its saddle and keep taut whilst winding a couple of turns on the relevant
tuner. Thread through the string post and bend the string back on itself to anchor it in place. Apply a little ten-
sionfromthetunerandmoveontothenextstring.Repeattheaboveprocessforallsixstrings.
Bringing all the strings up to pitch gradually is better achieved with a digital guitar tuner or pitch pipes as a ref-
erence. Please be aware that the tension of the strings may take some time to settle and re-tuning a few times
might be necessary. Stretching each string gently after reaching the pitch will help to take up slack.

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Setting up
Theneckisttedwithatrussrodwhichmayneedadjusting.Whenthestringsaretunedup,theywilltrytopull
awayfromtheneck,whichmaymeanthattheactionbecomestoohigh.Ifthishappens,usethelargerofthe
twohexkeysprovidedtograduallytightenthetrussrod–ahalfturnisusuallyenoughandmaynottakeef-
fectimmediately–allowtheadjustmentstosettleeachtime–donotbetemptedtoover-tightenthetrussrod.
Sighting along the neck should show a very slight concave tendency which is called “relief” and too straight a
neckmayleadto“fretbuzzing”.Somestringsmayneedtoberaisedorloweredindividuallytogivethecor-
rectactionandthiscanbeadjustedusingthesmallerofthetwohexkeysprovided.Forthelaststepscrewthe
truss-rod cover.
Oncethedesiredactionisachieved,allthatremainsistosettheintonation.Aftertuningupallthestrings,you
justhavetogentlytouchastring,rightabovethetwelfthfretandthenpickthestring.Theresultingchime-like
soundisaharmonic(12thfretharmonic).Thisharmonicshouldhavethesamepitchaswhenthestringis
pressedatthetwelfthfret.Ifthepitchofthetwonotesdiffers,adjustthesaddleforthisstringbackorforthon
thebridge.Listencarefullyandadjustgentlyuntilthetwonotesmatch,toachievecorrectintonation.Repeat
this procedure on all strings until the harmonics and the fretted notes sound the same.
Pleasealsorememberthatovertime,slightadjustmentsmayneedtobemadeanddifferentgaugesofstrings
will need compensating for in the setup.
Thepickupheightcannowbeadjustedforbestperformanceandcanbebalancedbyadjustingthescrewsat
thetopandbottomofeachpickup.Asageneralrule,holddownthestringsatthe22ndfretandadjustsothat
thestringsareatleast2mmclearofthepickup.Anypickupsthatarenoticeablylouderthanotherscanbe
madequieterbyadjustingthemfurtherawayfromthestrings.
Forfutureadjustments,keeptheseinstructionsasareferenceandenjoyyourcustommadeguitar.

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Notes

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